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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25144714">When I find you, if I do</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/beanie_cryptid/pseuds/beanie_cryptid'>beanie_cryptid</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>First Meetings, Fluff, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Kinda?, MIT Era, Pre-Slash</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:40:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,343</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25144714</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/beanie_cryptid/pseuds/beanie_cryptid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>James Rhodes hadn't really expected the Stark heir to be anything more than that - the Stark heir, and he definitely hadn't expected to ever be friends with him, let alone roommates.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Rhodey" Rhodes &amp; Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>77</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>When I find you, if I do</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>James Rhodes knows he is going to college with the Stark heir, of course, it had been all over the news, Howard Stark's announcement and the media furore and everything that came with being a child genius with a billionaire father. </p><p>He doesn't actually think he'd ever actually meet him. </p><p>Jim is more of a humble person, not self centered but determined, and the sort of person who wouldn't touch the sort of flashy wealth a teenage Stark heir is going to have with a ten foot pole. His younger sister is excited though; everyone knows how young he is, just 15, already going to college, and Rhodey is just 17, still early for it really, so she seems to think they're going to be best friends, and she's going to meet him. Unfortunately for her, he doesn't plan on going anywhere near Tony and the band of admirers he'll inevitably pick up as soon as he arrives.</p><p>Nobody actually knows what the Stark heir looks like, properly, other than obviously the Stark family. He's been in the backgrounds of photos of his father on occasion, but there's never actually been a picture of him that's not blurry or mostly obscured - he knows, he's checked, though he's not sure why. </p><p>He mostly, from what Jim can tell, looks like the generic white kid, brown hair, perhaps a bit short for his age, but otherwise, just your average-looking kid. Nothing really special about him there. Everyone knows he's a genius, though, already with 7 patents and God knows what other fancy stuff. Jim wonders, in his momentary interest in the life of the Stark heir, whether he is actually the genius claimed, or if his father helped him. It seems the most likely option, to both him and the newspapers.</p><p>His sister's adamant that he is a genius and that Jim will see him, and he doesn't really want to burst her bubble, so he doesn't say anything as they climb out of the cab, a rare expense, his older sister rolling her eyes, and comes face to face with MIT. </p><p>He grins, and turns to grab his bags from the cab.</p><p> </p><p>~</p><p> </p><p>They have lunch in Cambridge, his parents and his two sisters, and James Rhodes forgets all about Tony Stark. They take a walk around after, scoping out the area and having the last conversations they'll have in person before Thanksgiving.</p><p>His check-in is later than he expected, he finds, meaning his family can't be there to help him unpack, which he is slightly disappointed at, but doesn't really mind. He got to spend the whole day with them after all, and they're always just on the end of the phone line. He doesn't have too much stuff to unpack anyway, and he's always been organised. It'll be no trouble.</p><p>They say their goodbyes outside his building, slightly tearful and promising an amazing Thanksgiving dinner, and he heads inside, slightly uneasily his stuff. His bags up difficult to drag upstairs, and it takes a while, and it is on the stairs, with battered posters pinned up on notice boards on the walls, that Jim realizes he hasn't thought at all about who his roommate is going to be. </p><p>He hopes it'll be someone down to earth, with a sense of humor and preferably not mooning over the Stark heir, now he comes to think of it. As much as he loves his sister, her speculations were not exactly the most enjoyable thing to listen to.</p><p>He arrives at his floor eventually, second from the top of the building so further up than he'd like, but he's not complaining. His room is at the end of the corridor, and he reaches it with some laboring of his three bags, but quick enough. He's startled to hear raised voices coming through the door. Or rather, a raised voice. There's a quieter one as well, soft and, if Jim hears right, perhaps scared. Nervous, maybe.</p><p>He stops, unsure, and can't help but eavesdrop.</p><p>"No, we're not going to stay just to watch you unpack and then watch you eat a plate of food. Get over it, boy." </p><p>"It's just dinner, father, I'm not going to see you for months." If Jim isn't much mistaken, he can hear a tremor in the boy's soft voice as he speaks, and he feels a surge of protectiveness for this person he's never met. </p><p>"Yes, I should hope so. It'll keep you focused, as you should be."</p><p>The soft voice mumbles something Jim can't hear, and there's a snort from the louder man. Jim can't ever imagine being spoken to by his father like that.</p><p>"Of course not. Stay here or find somewhere to go for Thanksgiving. You need to stay focused, keep up the family name. If I hear you're slacking at all, I will come down here and make sure personally that you aren't, understood?"</p><p>For a moment, Jim reels in shock, then there's another voice, a woman's this time, saying something Jim can't make out but sounding unsure. The soft voice says, waveringly,</p><p>"Yes father. Goodbye."</p><p>"Goodbye, and please smarten up, what you're wearing that is not good for appearances."</p><p>By now, Jim's pretty sure his glare could burn a hole through the wood, because even if he's this man's child, what right does the man have to speak to him like that? He's on the verge of outrage and yet he doesn't want to intrude. It feels… wrong. Private, and not for the father’s sake, but the kid’s.</p><p>It turns out he doesn't have to, because there's a few quiet words and two figures, both adult, one, the man with the loud voice, he supposes, clothed in a suit and a glare and another, he presumes is the man's wife, in a dress and a look of vague confusion but without concern. The man shoots a glare at Jim as he stalks past, and Jim is hit with a jolt of recognition which he ignores. </p><p>He drags his bag forwards and enters the room.</p><p>The first thing he notices is, in fact, the curtains. They're hideous, some horrible floral pattern that stretches across the fabric like a diseased vine, committing all artistic atrocities. He has an urge to rip them off the curtain rail and burn them.</p><p>The second thing he notices is his roommate, kinda short with an untidy mop of brown hair and shaking shoulders. He's wearing a huge hoodie and cargo trousers, and he's facing away from Jim. Jim also has an urge to burn this kid’s parents, though that is slightly more illegal than burning the curtains (or more than slightly).</p><p>For some reason, his brain hasn't yet made the connection between this kid and who he might be, so he settles his stuff on his bed, and makes himself known with a short cough and a cheerful 'hi!'. The kid turns around faster than Jim can close his mouth, eyes slightly frantic, tensing up completely for a moment before relaxing when he sees Jim and his bags strewn haphazardly on the bed.</p><p>"Yeah, sorry I was so quiet coming in, only been here for a moment."</p><p>"Hey."</p><p>The kid's eyes dart to the door and a myriad of expressions Jim can't decipher cross his face before he glances sadly at his shoes and turns back to roll out a poster. He looks so young, and slightly lost. He looks like he doesn't really belong here.</p><p>Jim rolls his eyes but doesn't give up.</p><p>"Hi, I'm James Rhodes. Jim."</p><p>The boy doesn't turn around, pulling out a few folders stuffed full of papers, some of which fall out. He picks them up and stuff them randomly back in. Jim momentarily wonders that that can't be a great filling system before his new roommate is talking quietly, back still turned.</p><p>"Hi, sorry for being so rude, I'm Anthony. Tony."</p><p>"Tony…"</p><p>The kid sighs, draws a hand over his face tiredly and turns around, folders still clutched in his hands and leaking papers onto the floor. He sighs as if this has happened before, which Jim supposes it probably has. He wonders for a moment what could be so bad about telling someone your surname, it’s not like he could ever hate this small kid who’s standing there looking sad as hell and more tired than someone of his age (he looks around 15), should be.</p><p>"Stark."</p><p>Oh. Jim's brain finally lines up what he's heard and what he's seeing and what he's seen and  suddenly he doesn't feel as coldly towards Tony Stark as he did before. This kid definitely isn't flashy, at least not yet, and the protectiveness Jim felt for him earlier hasn't disappeared. Perhaps Howard Stark isn't as great a man as always thought; Tony looks pretty dejected.</p><p>Something of that obviously shows, wrongly, on his face, because Tony's speaking again, the hope that Jim might have seen in his eyes completely gone, shoulders slumping.</p><p>"Yeah. Feel free to file a complaint or hate me or some shit. I'm not gonna be the best roommate."</p><p>"Ok, look man, if we got off on the wrong foot I'm sorry. I have nothing against you, and I don't think I'll have any problems with being your roommate."</p><p>Tony turns again, this time clutching a t-shirt. There seems to be hope reignited in his eyes, so it's a start. He’s completely adorable and Jim tries to both fight his rising desire to hug Tony into oblivion and also his rising desire to punch Howard Stark in the face. He grins at what's on the t-shirt. It says: All science is either physics or stamp collecting.</p><p>"Ernest Rutherford?"</p><p>Tony's eyes light up.</p><p>"Yeah. I'm a bit of a nerd, if you couldn't tell."</p><p>Jim grins. He has the odd urge to apologize to Tony and he's not quite sure why.</p><p>"Same. Do you need help unpacking?"</p><p>Tony shakes his head in an almost imperceptible movement and offers another soft smile, hair flopping into his face. Jim is almost surprised he ever resented him in the first place.</p><p>"No, not a lot of stuff I wanted to bring. Do you need help?"</p><p>"No, I should be fine."</p><p>Tony turns back to his stuff, shoulders sagging slightly again, but he brightens up, and takes something out from his bag, unwraps it and puts it in his mouth. He turns around with another of those small smiles and holds out a sweet in a shiny plastic wrapper. He notices Tony’s hands are shaking, but doesn’t comment on it.</p><p>“Want one?”</p><p>Jim stops for a moment, freezes, then gives a smile.</p><p>“Uh, sure. Thanks.”</p><p>He takes the sweet and eats it, turning back to unpack the rest of his thing. It takes a while of mostly half awkward, half comfortable silence, but when he’s done, he turns around and Tony is sitting, knees scrunched up to his chest, watching him with his head tilted slightly. Another surge of protectiveness goes through Jim, but he ignores it. It’s not like he can apologize to him for having a shit family, that would be… not good. Or really appropriate.</p><p>“Hey, Tony, what’s your major?”</p><p>Tony’s hand comes up to the back of his neck nervously, eyes flicking down and back and down again. Jim isn’t quite sure what to do.</p><p>“Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.”</p><p>“You’re doing two? Wow.”</p><p>Tony smiles in a way that, if Jim is right, looks a bit self deprecating but mostly wry and slightly fed up.</p><p>“Yeah, of course I am, fucking genius billionaire show I have to fucking put on, hey? One would have been a hell of a lot easier, but no, because Howard Stark isn’t prepared to let his son have a good time and seem to have any sort of weakness. Such wonder, what joy.” Tony laughs dryly and shrugs. “It’s all good, I don’t really sleep much anyway, insomnia’s a bitch. Anyway, what’s your major?”</p><p>Ok, now Jim is definitely concerned. He doesn’t say anything though, settling back onto his bed with a grin. </p><p>“Aerospace engineering. Gonna be a pilot. I think I share some classes with you.”</p><p>They start to talk, properly now, about random things and annoying physics teachers and accidentally blowing things up and Jim can positively see Tony opening up. He looks more self confident now, less tentative, and still completely adorable with his huge hoodie and floppy hair and small smile and the new eagerness Jim hadn’t seen yet, but which seems to be coming out now as he talks. If he ever thought he wasn’t going to be friends with Tony Stark, he’s almost definitely completely wrong now. He’s not sure if he’ll be able to keep up with the whirlwind that is the Tony that he can already see coming for him, but hell if he’s not going to try. This kid’s gonna need some looking after anyway and Jim never was one to leave someone be as they struggled.</p><p>“So, Jim.” Tony says after a while. He’s fallen back against his bed and is staring at the ceiling. Jim can see he’s still tensed, like an animal prepared to bolt from a predator or whatnot, but he’s definitely more relaxed. He stares almost wistfully at the vaguely molding plaster and wallpaper. “Has anyone ever called you Rhodey?”</p><p>“Oh, um, no.”</p><p>“Well, get used to it,” Tony shoots another of his small, adorable smiles his way, “it’s your nickname now.”</p><p>Rhodey can’t really bring himself to care about the ridiculousness of it, as he offers to take a walk around the campus with Tony to scope out where they’ll be living for the next year. And he manages to care even less as Tony gives him the most excited smile he’s ever seen and jumps off the bed and to the door, making Rhodey laugh.</p><p>If it’s annoying that his little sister was right, that’s made way better by Tony’s tentatively hopeful smile as they stroll out of the building into the evening sunlight.</p>
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